2016 in Review: What the Celebs Said

Beyond Mariah Carey calling me “dahhhling” in her famous diva affectation as my childhood self landed somewhere over the moon, a lot happened in 2016. Acting queen Meryl Streep spoke affectionately to me about her lifelong love for the LGBT community. Country queen Dolly Parton revealed that she, naturally, has been a confidante to her own gay and lesbian family members. And then there’s Joe Jonas, who shared his fondness for S&M, potentially inspiring some adventurous bedroom behavior this year. Here’s a collection of some standout quotes from Hollywood queens – and one horny JoBro.

“I’ve grown up with gay people and been in love with gay people.” – Meryl Streep

“I have a song called ‘Outside’ that a lot of people from the gay community have always said they grew up listening to and were like, ‘That helped me come out to my family.’” – Mariah Carey

“I’ve had many people through the years who I have helped to feel good about themselves. I say, ‘You need to let people know who you are and you need to come on out.’” – Dolly Parton

“There are a lot of people, and time does this, who are going to be severely embarrassed for their bias and intolerance. And they’re going to have to live with that; that’s going to be their legacy. I refuse to have that as part of my legacy.” – Michael Buble

“I’m not saying ‘Will & Grace’ is responsible for gay marriage; I’m saying that maybe there was an element that helped in some way.” – Megan Mullally

“I think some of the shoes I wear are ugly but they don’t hurt. I just don’t want my feet to hurt anymore.” – Cyndi Lauper

“There are thousands upon thousands of voiceless LGBT people within even just the Mormon community who feel like they can’t ask questions and can’t have doubts and can’t be themselves. I want to be able to give a microphone to those people.” – Tyler Glenn

“When we get married we want our wedding party to just be our two sisters in tuxedos. Jack has a straight sister, I have a queer sister; they’d be our best men/women and we’ll call it a day. That’s our dream.” – Lena Dunham

“It’s definitely fun when you bring some whips and leather and whatever you may be into – a little bit of S&M – into the bedroom.” – Joe Jonas

“I know what dark places feel like and I know what the absence of love and community feels like, and if I had a me when I was growing up to see, I would have perhaps been familiar to you guys a lot sooner than two years ago.” – Tituss Burgess

“In my teenage years, I was very girly. I remember when I used to go on a French exchange in Paris and all the locals called me ‘mademoiselle’ because they thought I was a girl.” – Hugh Grant

“I was a funny kid and that was one thing I always knew I had. You know how you’re insecure as a kid? I was like, ‘Well, I know I’m funny.’” – Jane Lynch

As editor of Q Syndicate, Chris Azzopardi has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey, and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.